Rear Windshield Leaking

I opened a case with Toyota. They gave me the run-around about the mileage of my 2016 (60,000). One dealer told me he had never heard of the problem and would caulk the rear lamp - needless to say we are not friends anymore. After a $450 quote from another dealer to replace the lamp, and nearly 10hrs of persistent phone calls to Toyota, the rear lamp was replaced (was on back-order but they found one within 2 days, hmm?) at no charge. Problem solved, it was the rear lamp seal. Toyota corporate paid the dealer for the parts & service. I will tell you that the key components to my argument were the mentioning of the TSB, as well as mentioning the conversation threads appearing through this community. Toyota seemed to perk up when I started referencing legit data compiled with social exposure. I don't want to ramble on about this topic, so feel free to shoot me a message if anyone needs additional information. As they say, the squeaky wheel gets the grease!

 

Looks like it's my turn. After a hard rain today I was putting my 3 year old's booster seat in the back seat and noticed the back of the seats were wet. Checked in the cargo compartments behind the back seat and there was water. I've had the truck (2017 TDR Off Road 4x4) since November of 2017 and hadn't noticed a leak. There was a couple of times where I smelled some mild mildew but couldn't identify any issues. I made an appointment at the dealership. Thanks for all the info.

 

Just took I mine in this past week.
Truck has a damp smell. Who knows how long it’s been going on for. The water looked to have seemed into rear subwoofer.

Anyone else in Southern California having this issue recently?

 

Any update from Dealer?
I dropped mine off last week. Same issue as yours, had water even enter rear subwoofer.

 

I took it to the dealership on Monday. They were great. I told them about the leak and also asked them to check on a recent squeaking coming from the back end. After about 45 mins the service rep came back to me and said they were replacing the brake light and the rear leaf springs, both under warranty. Toyota has issued service bulletins for both. They gave me a rental car to drive until it’s done.

Brake Light: T-SB-0055-18
Leaf Springs: T-SB-0273-17

 

Awesome, good to know they are taking care of it.

I’m still waiting to here back on mine.

 

Chalk up another one... 2017 DCSB OFFROAD. Purchased NEW in May of 2017. Currently spending the 1st part of my Christmas vacation in the dealership because they are running diagnostics to identify the leak. The good news is that I live right down the road from the dealership and pulled up to the service garage to show them all the moisture in the cab (specifically on the door windows and Windshield). We get lots of humidity in SC so most of the moisture yielded condensation in the cab.

I want others to weigh in on 1 point.
My question is:
How many people had extreme concern around the upholstery of their vehicle as well as the headliner retaining moisture AFTER Toyota replaced the brake light and claims the issue is fixed?

I'm concerned about the damp, musty, stale smell my new truck has now. I am hesitant to try to dehumidify/dry out my interior if it is left to me because of the fear of drying out the interior too much... all the plastic in the cab... no bueno. How much noise do I make about the back seats that are soaked, the headliner... not sure what state it is in... etc. etc.

I have reviewed T-SB-0055-18 and all that it listed is to remotely answer my question is... "Make sure the body of the vehicle is clean and dry BEFORE installing the NEW part"

 

I just sent mine to the dealership and they said they are replacing the third brake light. My back seats were SOAKED. I'm worried they are going to be ruined. I've had my truck for 13 months (Nov 17) and I'll be pissed if the interior is ruined because of their mistake.

I don't know if I can demand a seat replacement or not.

 

Northern CA, first real rain season and lots of rain past couple months, purchased my truck back in Feb of 2018. Fxcking thing looks like I installed a water feature in the back. Any one have info on a Service Bulletin or and recalls. My truck is just out side warranty (41k miles)

 

feel for you man.
I luckily looked at used 2016 tacomas after a monsoon in Oshkosh and Green Bay WI. Two of them had bad leaks. Both dealers at Toyota dealerships just shrugged their shoulders and said it should be fixed under warranty.
We bought a new taco and it went thru car was twice b4 purchase. 10 or so high pressure washes since then but one never knows what the 3rd light situation is. I researched the light leak a bunch in 2017. Some techs deduced that there may have been a robot to blame to equal a out of spec light hole or depth. So, the gasket did not seal due to out of spec hole.
seems like those who are very squeeky and persistant at the dealer get it fixed.

 

unfortunately my 2017 Tacoma has greater than 36,000 miles on it and Toyota will not help me. I sent Toyota this e-mail. I'm waiting to see how they respond?

Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc.

Consider this…

The waterfall coming in through the third brake light on my 2017 Tacoma is caused by a faulty seal courtesy of Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc.
The vehicle is less than 3 years old.
It is NOT caused by mileage greater than 36,000 miles since it is not a consumable or wearable part.
There IS a TSB that has been created by Toyota indicating that Toyota is aware there is a problem with either the engineering or workmanship of the seal.
The TSB is #T-SB-0055-18
The cost of the replacement part is much cheaper for Toyota than it is for me to purchase at the service counter.
I will pay for the labor to have the part replaced, if you will agree to cover the cost of the part. Or at the very least, sell me the part I desperatly need at cost.
This to me seems like a more than fair compromise when you consider it’s Toyota’s fault that thousands of 2016-2018 Tacoma’s have waterfalls in their back seat.

 

@tgtech570...did you hear anything back from Toyota corp on this? I just went through this ordeal myself and had to pay $600 out of pocket because my truck was 1700 miles out of warrenty. Even mentioned the TSB but all I got was "according to your vin no TSB exists"

 

rsturgill3- Toyota Motor Corperation wanted me to take it to the dealership for assessment before determining whether or not they would cover it out of warranty. Before I got that far the service manager at my local dealership agreed to “Goodwill” it, meaning he took care of it free of charge. The TSB does work BTW. The gasket on it is much thicker and seals it up to keep water out. All I can say is squeaky wheel gets the grease. Don’t give up but also don’t get too aggressive or they won’t help.

 

Thanks for the quick response. The work has already been done and I have tested it out at a car wash with no problems. Guess a few emails/phone calls can't hurt at this point, maybe I can get a warranty extension or some reimbursement. I just can't believe that such a wide spread problem can get treated in so many different ways with different dealers. Sounds like you found a good one up near the Canton area! Thanks Again!

 

I had the leak 2 years ago had to fight to get it replaced just outside warranty. Now 2 years later it’s leaking again!!! Dealer says they won’t cover it even though I have a Toyota extended warranty since it’s not part of this warranty. Now I have to fight again to get it fixed. What he hell do they expect. Do they think I should shell out $700 every 2 years to keep my truck dry. Going to talk to the service manager on Friday hopefully he’s a reasonable guy. If it were a legitimate wearable part or something that sees lots of wear I’d have absolutely no problem paying for it. But this is ridiculous I’ve owned lots of trucks none have ever leaked in this location.

 

Sounds like you have a dealer like I do. I got a 1 year warrenty on the part - so on day 367 im going to calk it myself since if it fails I would have to pay anyways - this whole situation is bs!

 

I have a 2016 TRD Sport LB. Mine is not as bad but couple of occasions I thought maybe i had a back window open or something. I live in Vancouver Canada and it rains a lot here. Mine is past the warranty and I noticed a bit of mold on top of 60/40 folding seats. The challenge is the way the bed light is mounted. There is no physical screws outward. I wonder if it's going to create rust on top of the pre-existing mold.

 

I have A 2016 Tacoma and just noticed water stains on board sides of the headliner. Hope my extended warranty covers it,i have 40k on mind.

 

If you have extended cover, you should be fine. I have a 2016 as well but detected it just past my warranty. However I argued that this is not a normal wear and tear and showed them a video I took of my demonstration. They ended up splitting the cost with me. Still paid over $300 out of pocket.

 

Well update,went to dealer,told me it was the 3rd break light leaking and broken from the inside,not sure how they looked because they didnt take down headliner and now the seal is really loose so it will leak like a hose for sure. Extended warranty wont cover and they want $400 to fix it. Not happy.